OUR PLAN TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR WORLD

These days the word ‘sustainability’ is part of everyday speech. We talk about sustainable fibres, sustainable ecosystems, and sustainable businesses. But just a few years ago the idea of a big business announcing its commitment to sustainability was nothing short of revolutionary. But that’s exactly what we did when we announced that Woolworths had embarked on a journey towards sustainability. We call it our Good business journey.

In brief, our Good business journey is our comprehensive plan to make a difference in four key areas:  transformation, social development, the environment and climate change - all challenges facing not only South Africa, but the world at large.  

Why a journey? Because real change is not achieved overnight – it happens one step at a time.

Our customers are showing their support for our Good business journey – more and more people want to know and understand where their products come from and be sure they are sourced ethically and without harm to the environment.

Our customers help us make a difference to our communities and environment and we’re committed to providing them with as much information and help as possible. Our own people support our programme and are bringing elements of sustainability into their daily jobs and lives. And we’re pleased to say, it’s changing the way we operate.

BACKGROUND
Our journey till now

Transformation, social development and the environment have been deep at the heart of our business from the very beginning. But, in 2007, we realised that the only way to achieve real change would mean fundamentally changing our approach to business.  This led to the start of a journey that we believe will not only take us forward into the future, but will help shape a better future for our children and grandchildren.

It’s not a journey we have undertaken alone. We have invited and encouraged our suppliers, business partners, NGOs and our customers to join us and are heartened by the willingness and enthusiasm so many of them have shown. The best journeys, after all, are those where the experience is shared.

Initially we set goals for ourselves which we believed we could achieve within five years.  As we suspected, some are proving easier than others. And like so many journeys, we’ve found ourselves taking unexpected side trips and occasional detours. We’ve learned from all of them. And, in general, we’re pleased with the progress we’ve made to date towards the goals we set for 2012 and extraordinarily proud to have been recognised for our efforts by being named international Responsible Retailer of the Year by the World Retail Awards twice in three years.

We are also very proud of some of our achievements and the milestones we’ve reached: our Farming for the Future initiative, our reduction in energy usage, our involvement in driving South Africa’s first commercial organic cotton crop, our continuing commitment to making food security a reality for all South Africans, our growing number of enterprise development projects, our commitment to water neutrality, our pioneering work in CO2 refrigeration, and the expansion of some of our educational initiatives, to name but a few.

Our customers expect us to take the lead in all areas covered by our Good business journey, and that’s exactly what we will do. With over 400-plus stores, millions of customers and a network of over 1000 suppliers, efforts will open up new opportunities, create new targets and ensure that our journey is dynamic and makes a difference to our communities, our country and our world. 

GOVERNANCE
Checking how we stack up

We have to be able to measure our progress on our Good business journey to see how we’re doing. This means ensuring we have the highest level of corporate governance and implementing effective structure, policies and practices across every area of our business.

We have prioritised more than 200 indicators to help us score our performance across each pillar of our Good business journey and we monitor progress at every level of the business. Operationally, each business unit has specific targets to achieve within their business strategy and it is this team work that is delivering results.

Good progress has been made and we’re thrilled with our 2010 total sustainability measurement score of 84%. It’s the first time we’ve beaten the 80% benchmark for good performance.

Our board sustainability committee is headed by a non-executive director and ensures we keep focused on a single point of view and direction for all our focus areas.  

Internal audit teams check and verify the progress indicators twice a year and we have regular external assessments. Our BEE status is assured by the BEE verification agency CC and our carbon footprint data is externally verified by the Global Carbon Exchange.

NEWS
Making the headlines through change

Woolworths named Responsible Retailer of the Year – 2010 & 2008
Woolworths has received international recognition in recognition of our commitment to embed the Good business journey through all facets of the business. In 2008 Woolworths was one of only two retailers to be shortlisted outside Europe and in 2010 was named Responsible Retailer of the Year for 2010 at the World Retail Awards for the second time in three years.

Woolies wins Retail Sector Category – Climate Change Leadership awards 2010
Woolworths was named winner of the retail sector category at the inaugural Climate Change Leadership Awards. This is the first time in South Africa that companies were acknowledged and rewarded for their efforts in reducing their impact on global warming.

A leader in carbon disclosure
Woolworths was ranked second out of the top 100 companies in South Africa on the Climate Change Disclosure Leadership Index by the Carbon Disclosure Project, a global initiative to encourage companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. (First in the low impact category in 2008).

Woolies win SAAFoST President’s Award for contribution to food science and technology  2010
Woolworths is the first retailer to South African retailer to win the SAAFoST president's award in recognition of our advances in food science and technology and new product development. We’d like to congratulate our food scientists, technologists and product developers whose hard work, dedication and innovation this award recognises.

Winner of Mail and Guardian’s Greening the Future award 2008
The Mail and Guardian honours and celebrates the achievements of companies and organisations that play a role in efforts to ensure a sustained and healthy planet for all people. We were also a finalist in the ‘Agriculture’ category in 2010 for our Farming for the Future programme.

Woolies Food overall winner in 2009 Ask Afrika Orange Index service excellence awards 2009
Woolworths Food was the overall winner in the 2009 Ask Afrika Orange Index service excellence awards and Woolworths Clothing took fourth place. The Ask Afrika Orange Index is widely regarded as the largest service excellence benchmark in South Africa and aims to capture South African consumers’ views on good and bad service.

Woolworths was chosen as a finalist in the ESG category at the 6th annual African Access National Business Awards 2010.

Woolworths was chosen as a finalist in the 2010 SANEA Energy awards in the Category: Energy Project Award 2010.

Woolworths was again included in the JSE Socially responsible investment (SRI) index for 2010/11 and was the only retailer named as one of the index best performers.

Woolworths Clothing – voted the most fashionable clothing retailer The Sunday Times Top Brands survey.

WHL Annual report for the year ended June 2010 has once again been rated as Excellent in the E&Y Excellence in Corporate Reporting awards.

Woolworths private label cosmetics on Beauty Without Cruelty white list 
Since 2008 Woolworths entire private label range of toiletries and cosmetics has been approved by Beauty Without Cruelty and is included on BWC’s “White List” of companies which comply with their humane criteria.